Where to Eat in South Florida Right Now

Thanks to a growing influx of rich South Americans, free-spending Russians, and euro-giddy Europeans, South Florida doesn't really have much of an off-season any more, which in turn leads to more restaurant openings and more consistent service. So if you're planning a trip there this fall or winter, here's where you'll want to dine.

As always, developer Tony Goldman has selected a down-on-its-heels neighborhood and made it hip (and profitable) by taking over several warehouse buildings in what is generously being called the "arts district." He's had them painted by internationally famous artists, including Shepard Fairey in the bar and lounge area and Berlin's Christian Awe, who's done two vast abstract canvases in the dining room (there's also an eleven-foot sculpture by David Benjamin Sherry). Run by his daughter Jessica Goldman Srebnick, WK&B is as much a destination for its interiors and exteriors as for chef Miguel Aguilar's global-Latino cooking, which includes mussels with chorizo, celery, and caramelized onions; skirt steak with black beans and roasted scallions; and pork tenderloin with apple, jicama slaw, and shallot gravy.

If you like loud and late — 5 a.m. on weekends — Gigi is the place to get it, along with remarkably tasty casual dining, from snacks like grilled corn with tofu to buns filled with crispy chicken skin and aioli to BBQ ribs with hoisin sauce. It's all cement walls, floors, closely-set tables, and big windows. Spend an hour here and you'll see that everyone at every table seems to know at least one person from another table.

This London offshoot is the best and most sophisticated Japanese/Asian restaurant in Miami, and it's caught on with those who go for chef Rainer Becker's izakaya-style menus. It's been a big draw for sports and entertainment figures, including local girls Gloria Estefan and Maria Sharapova. Start at the bar — there are forty sakes — then go for some of the favorite dishes like rice hot pot with wild mushrooms; miso-marinated cod wrapped in hoba leaf; and fried softshell crab with wasabi mayonnaise.

This new Midtown hit has one of the city's best-balanced American menus via chef Alejandro Pinero, whose approach to his ingredients gives the restaurant its trendy name. It's a grand space, lighted to show off its guests, with a mangrove ribcage wall, cypress benches, and an open kitchen. The snack food — soft pretzels accompanied by wholegrain mustard and orange-blossom honey; pigs in a blanket served with spicy mustard; and fried chickpeas in herb-infused oil — is as good across the board as hearty main courses like BBQ grilled quail with Brussels sprouts, cipollini onions, and mustard-horseradish cream; and wreckfish served with cannellini beans, escarole, chorizo, and clams. Oh, and the "wet fries" are drizzled with bone-marrow gravy. Fantastic.

With its full-size basketball court on the 19th floor and a fitness center with serious free weights, it's clear that the JW Marriott intends to attract professional athletes staying in Miami. And to give the place genuine class, they've brought in Daniel Boulud (who already has a Café Boulud in Palm Beach) to replicate his New York original DB Bistro Moderne, with Chef Jarrod Verbiak turning out French classics with a Florida twist, like porcini confit and sweet raisins; boeuf aux carottes, a roasted tenderloin sided by a hearty oxtail ragout; and pineapple Tatin.

Located below the Townhouse Miami hotel, Bond Street Lounge is a sleek sushi restaurant and bar where sunburned people do sake shots while enjoying Mike Hiraga's teriyaki and signature bluefin tuna toro. Many tables are communal, and the atmosphere encourages guys to wear light-colored blazers and v-neck t-shirts while the city's most beautiful Cuban women wear the highest heels on the Beach.

The return of Chef Douglas Rodriguez to Miami's South of Fifth neighborhood has restored his reputation as an innovator of Nuevo Cubano cuisine. Inside, ask for a table with a sofa; outside, try for a table by the pool and order the spicy ceviches. And if you're with a group, pre-order the caja china, an entire roasted pig served with black beans, white rice, and sweet plantains.

The newest in Stephen Starr and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's small empire, this one set in the Bal Harbour Shops actually takes the name of its chef, Makoto Okuwa, a twenty-year veteran of sushi restaurants in Japan and the U.S. The minimalist dining room is done in dark, bare wood, appended by a sunny outdoor patio. Dishes you shouldn't miss include kobe beef seared tableside on a hot river stone; chilled udon noodles with chicken, roasted peanuts, and pea sprouts; and the whole-roasted branzino served with wasabi chimichurri. After that, you can stroll around and buy your loved one something nice.

Palm Beach The new 160-seat Buccan has given the conservative Palm Beach dining scene some buzz, packed as it is with local veterans in Ralph Lauren and Lilly Pulitzer and a younger generation in Versace and Tommy Hilfiger. Chef-owner Clay Conley, formerly of Azul in Miami, calls the restaurant a "Progressive American Grill," done up with soft pillows on couches and banquettes, and accents of copper, stone, and mercury glass. There are small-plate delicacies like tuna poke with coconut, gingered carrot, and jalapeño, and a succulent, sweet "petite" lobster roll. The best grill items are the tender octopus with creamy tabbouleh and black garlic and barbecued quail.